Want a job? Check out power sector

The privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has raised job seekers’hopes. With the coming of the 14 successor-companies, jobs will abound for skilled and unskilled labour, LUCAS AJANKU and AKINOLA AJIBADE write.

For job seekers, it is time to dust up their resume and head for the power sector. With the disengagement of 70 per cent of the 48,000 workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) following its expiration, their chances of getting a job are high.

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) sacked the PHCN workers to enable the 14 power generation and distribution companies start on a clean slate. The power firms are expected to employ workers for their operations.

The 10 Independent Power Plants (IPPs) will also create jobs when they are transferred to private investors next year. An estimated 30,000 workers, it was gathered, are going to be employed to drive the sector and further help in improving electricity supply in the country.

There will be openings for electricians, transformer technicians, and cashiers. Others are marketers, customer relation officers, security men, drivers and others. While some of these jobs require a university degree or polytechnic certificate, others require less stringent educational qualification. This, in addition, to attributes such as high level of commitment, good knowledge of the jobs which the firms would require to move Nigeria from its current 4,000 mega watts (Mw) of electricity to 40,000 Mw by 2020.

Industry observers said contrary to insinuations that the privatisation will lead to massive loss of jobs, it will create more jobs as the investors deploy their management skills to ensure that their investment do not go down the drains. They said the time has come for the unemployed that have the necessary requirements to get jobs.

The National President, Nigerian Society Engineers (NSE), Mr Mustapha Shehu, urged members not to fret over the privitisation process because it will open a new vista of jobs’ opportunities for them.

Shehu said there is dearth of engineers in the country, adding that they would benefit a lot from the reforms. He said qualified engineers are going to be needed by the firms when they start operations fully in 2014.

He said: ‘’Many Nigerians who are qualified engineers would have the opportunity to practice their trades during the post qualification era. The power sector reforms were potentially a huge creator of jobs. If Nigeria is growing at 7 per cent, with a steady power, the growth will double; more businesses will start and employ people. Unbundling means that private sector investment in the power industry, there will be more businesses in the upstream and downstream sector, this will result in more jobs creation.’’

He added that the new investors in the sector would like the recruit dedicated and experienced engineers who can adapt to changes in the system and apply themselves to modern technology and applications.

The former President, Senior Staff Association of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Godwin Ifenacho said the reforms come with pains and gains for Nigeria. Ifenacho said the reforms has resulted in the loss of quality manpower, arguing that workers that were trained over the years have been swept away in one fell swoop.

He said the firms would need to employ more workers if they want to achieve results, adding that people with proficiency in management and technical areas would be needed to move the sector forward. Technical expertise, Ifenacho said, is crucial to the growth of the sector because a lot of repairs and services would be taking place from time to time.

‘’While we cannot dispute the fact that the unbundling of PHCN’s asset and the subsequent sales to the interested investors has resulted in jobs’ loss, it has the tendency to create jobs. The skills needed in the power sector must be good and competitive compared to other sector. The reason is because the sector is highly technical and requires high level of proficiency. That shows people that would get jobs under this dispensation must be very good. Once this happens, they would get jobs whenever the companies decide to employ more hands’’ he added.

He said when the 10 independent power plants are privitised, engineers would be employed in those plants. This, he said, is good for the country that boasts of huge unemployment rate.

He cautioned the companies against employing workers on sentiments, arguing that workers must be employed on merits.

‘’If you look at the kind of workers in the defunct National Electric Power Authority and PHCN they are very competent. They have acquired experience over the years, hence the expertise they have demonstrated so far. That is why in the first place, people are kicking against the privitisation and the decision to sack PHCN’s workers. But if the power firms can employ some of the best hands in the industry, the better for the sector.”

A District Manager, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company who spoke on condition of annoymity, said the company is grossly under-staffed. He said one worker is made to do the work of three people, following the sack of majority of the workers of PHCN.

He said the district is experiencing shortage of manpower, adding that the management has given assurance that it will employ people next year.

For instance, one person was assigned to distribute bills, instead of three or four people.

The Chief Executive officer, Transcorp Ughelli Power Plant, Adeoye Fadeyibi, said qualified manpower is needed for the growth of the sector.

Adeoye said the company has excellent personnel at its plants because it intends to add value to the sector. He said existing resources plus support from international organisations would help in growing the company and the sector in particular.